UPWARD CALL Devotional Tapestry
Devotional Tapestries are short recordings designed to draw your heart and mind to the Living God. Each includes a devotional reading over instrumental music, leading into a hymn.
Listen to UPWARD CALL Devotional Tapestry.
John 1:4-9
God floods our world with His life.
His life brings Light into darkness.
It brings wisdom and love into our fear.
It brings understanding into our ignorance.
It is truth, and it drives out all that is false.
The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness is overpowered.
Jesus is this Light…
pure, uncreated Light
shining from our Father.
As we receive the Light,
He melts the darkness from our hearts and lives.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: You Are the Light
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Prepare for Worship
Worship is like every other activity: we reap what we sow. Our relationship with God is like every other relationship: we get out of it what we put into it.
Worship is so much more real and meaningful when I come prepared to worship Him as He deserves to be worshiped: with my thoughts and desires turned to Him.
You shall love the Lord Your God
with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and
with all your mind.
This is the great and foremost commandment.
(Matthew 22:37-38, NASB)
So much of my life I’ve come to Sunday worship distracted. I’ve gone through the motions, but my heart and mind were far away. As I asked God for His forgiveness and help, He prompted me to begin preparing myself for Sunday worship. On Saturday night or Sunday morning I’ve begun to consciously turn my mind and heart to Him.
During this journey, the prayers He has given me I will share with you through a new Saturday edition of my blog. (For 2017, my blog posts will come out on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.) Each of these Saturday posts will appear under the heading, “Prepare Yourself for Worship”. Each prayer will conclude with a hymn.
Father, You want me to know You better,
and You say that I can know You better
through a more wholehearted participation in public worship.
I want what You want:
I want to know You better.
I want a closer, more constant relationship with You.
Teach me, Father.
I am listening.Listen and sing:
Hymn: Prepare Us
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Too often we look at the helplessness of infancy and of old age and feel that such lives are useless. We seem to think that if they can’t DO anything, what is the use of them living.
But we forget that God glorifies Himself most magnificently, not through our strength, not through our sufficiency, but through our weakness.
“My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 2:9, NIV)
Look at the way sovereign God chose to feed the five thousand, or slay a giant, or demolish the impregnable walls of Jericho. He chose to use weakness because it proved that He Himself was acting, not some human agent.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7, NASB)
Look at the example of Jesus. While He was still a helpless infant, only doing what infants do, God used Him powerfully. His arrival proved God’s faithfulness to His promises. His humble circumstances said more about God’s tenderness and mercy than words could ever express. News of His birth drew worshipers from a country and a religion far away.
God can powerfully use helpless infants.
When Jesus was in His final moments, able only to gasp and groan, God painted a picture of love that none of us can ever forget.
Even when we can no longer do God’s work, God can work through us.
I am not proposing a simplistic solution to the complex issues of life and death. But when He allows those in the grip of death to linger a bit, don’t doubt His wisdom or goodness. Even when we can no longer speak a testimony, our silent witness can eloquently glorify the God who is always faithful and who never leaves us alone.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: God Is Working All Around You
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34, NIV)
All the gifts of God,
all the freedom of His forgiveness,
all His unfailing love,
all the life-giving renewal of His mighty breath,
all the beauty of His character,
all the joyful, glorious, abundant future
that His heart could ever imagine
have come to you in Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV)
Listen and sing:
Hymn: See the Lamb of God
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER
John 20
Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
(Ephesians 1:3, NIV)
Look at Jesus Christ:
human, yet divine;
completely dependent on the Father,
yet always sufficient in Him;
weak, yet strong;
suffering, yet joyful;
pressured, yet at peace;
having died, yet risen to boundless, endless life.
The life of Christ is the Father’s promise to you.
As He lived, you can live here and now.
As He lives, you will live forever.
Imagine Jesus Christ the first of a
whole new race of human beings,
a race completely free from
the curse of sin, death, and the fall,
holy and glorious as He is,
children of our Father in the fullest sense.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: Jesus’ Life Is All a Promise
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14, NIV).
When your mind wanders, where does it go? What do you think about in your spare moments – when driving, eating, waiting, or doing undemanding tasks? What are your daydreams?
During one particular vacation, I was in the same room with a number of family members, all near and dear to me. Yet I caught myself being so self-absorbed that my heart and mind were not awake to them and their concerns. If they had felt problems or pain or confusion, I would not have sensed it. I would not have reached out to them to offer a listening heart.
The Lord has graciously showed me that I waste too much of my time and thought on myself.
I want to be preoccupied with loving other people. What could I accomplish if I let the Lord’s love dream through me?
I want to be awake to the kaleidoscope of concerns around me, ready to be Christ’s presence however I can.
I want to be more Christ-like. I’m tired of being insensitive in the little things I say and in the little things I don’t say. I want to have the mind and heart of Christ.
How does this happen, after a lifetime of being self-centered? Resolutions and guilt trips don’t work. But I’m finding the answer is much simpler. Whenever I realize that I stand in Christ’s presence, my heart is drawn to Him in prayer. And as I turn to Him, He soon brings other people to mind. When I pray, He frees me from bondage to myself and into the freedom of love. And I can pray anytime.
Sitting in church on a Sunday morning, the Lord prompts me to pray for the needs around me:
In traffic, passing coworkers in the office, or in my home, He is ready to share His mind and His heart with me. He just calls me to turn to Him more often as I live in His presence.
Lord, draw me to You.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: My Mind Is Yours
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
Christmas is the story of a Star.
The wise men had studied the stars for years, but suddenly,
One Star
caused them to leave home
on a long journey,
traveling many difficult months.
That One Star
was a sign from heaven,
and they followed.
One Star
was their only guide
all the way from a distant country
through so much desert
and so many midnights.
One Star
led them to
a simple house
in the tiny village of
far-away Bethlehem.
One Star.
Christmas is the story of a Star.
The story reminds us that
God never leaves us alone.
Even in the blackest night,
He always sends
One Star.
And our Star is
Jesus.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: The March of the Three Wise Men
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
JESUS THE LIGHT Devotional Tapestry
Devotional Tapestries are short recordings designed to draw your heart and mind to the Living God. Each includes a devotional reading over instrumental music, leading into a hymn.
Listen to JESUS THE LIGHT Devotional Tapestry.
It is personal conversation with Him.
Who can pray?
Absolutely anyone.
God only asks that we trust Him –
that we believe
He is listening and
will respond to us.
How do I pray?
Simply talk to Him, from your heart.
You can pray in silence or out loud,
sitting, kneeling, or in any position.
How long should I pray?
Prayers can be as short as a single sentence, or
as long as you need them to be.
Where should I pray?
God is always with you and is always listening.
Pray anywhere – at home, at work, or
in the privacy of your car as you drive.
Pray alone or with others.
What should I talk to God about?
Whatever is on your mind.
Thank Him for His many wonderful gifts.
Share your problems and ask for His help.
Pray for others – for your family, your friends,
your nation, your world . . . or
for the person ahead of you in line.
God is always with you.
He always listens when you pray.
Listen and sing:
Hymn: Simple Faith
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics
